


Unpacking Boxes

by PerfectlyHopeless



Series: Glass Cannon & Other Short Works [2]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Garrus and Shep are both huge nerds, for meflashfanwork's September theme, it's just a short little ficlet, nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 12:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8161853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: They don't have any secrets between each other, not really. It's just that liking classic romance novels is embarrassing...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I'm Hopeless and welcome to my little corner of AO3.
> 
> I wrote this for [meflashfanwork](http://meflashfanwork.tumblr.com/)'s September theme of Secrets. Just a little thing between my Rhea Shepard and Garrus.
> 
> I hope you enjoy ^_^

Rhea had a lot of free time growing up. She had lessons in the morning, lunch, and homework in the afternoons. The evenings were when she didn’t have anything, and they went on forever. 

Her favorite things in the world were books. Fairy tales were some of her favorites, the stories of brave knights dashing into battle against an enemy that seemed so mundane compared to her real life but at the same time it was so much fun that she hardly cared. Growing older only expanded her collections, classic novels and old plays finding their way onto her data-pad and (when she was lucky) her bookshelf. 

The feel of the pages in her hands, the smell of ink on the paper, the dust covers, the rare special editions with little ribbons tacked to fake leather spines. She adored real books, classic novels especially. If they were printed before the 21st century then she would be overjoyed. The language was so complex and structured in a way that she'd never heard in real life before. It was fascinating. 

No one on her crew knew of this secret love. Not even Garrus.

At least, not until her mother had a couple packages sent to her new apartment on the Citadel. Garrus accompanied her, the apartment as much his home as hers. 

Rhea took one while Garrus took the larger of the two boxes, setting them on the coffee table In front of the fireplace. She looked at the paper slip taped to the top and marveled at how old fashioned it was. 

_ Dear Reeses,  _ __  
_ I found our old storage unit and found some things that I thought you'd want to hold onto, since you've got that apartment from Anderson now. It wasn't easy getting this to the Citadel, so I hope you like it. _ _  
_ __ -Love, Mom <3

“She'll never stop with that silly nickname…” she grumbled, loving it despite herself. 

“What, ‘Reeses’?” Garrus inquired, knowing what Rhea was griping about. 

She snorted a laugh, folding the slip carefully. “Heh, yeah. Love her, though.” Her gaze turned to the boxes before she looked up at her tall boyfriend with a smile. “Let's open these bad boys. You get that one, I'll get this one.”

“Sounds good,” the turian said. 

Rhea nodded, opening up the box before her. “Oh my god, I can't believe we still had these,” she said, pulling out little disks for games she'd played as a teenager. Her eyes went wide at the sight of something brown and soft. “Ah!”

Garrus startled at her outburst, backing away from her for a moment. “What!?”

Rhea beamed up at him, holding a small and droopy stuffed bear in her arms. “My mom kept him after all these years! I can't believe it!”

Her boyfriend stared at it for a moment, blinking. “What is it?”

“The best friend a lonely spacer kid could have,” Rhea said, carefully setting the bear down on the table. She looked over at Garrus’ box. “What's in there?”

"Just some old books,” he said, pulling out a book with a blue faux leather cover and an off white ribbon. Rhea recognized it instantly and reached for it. Garrus, having far superior height by being fifty centimeters taller, held the book just out of reach so that she jumped to try and get it.

“Garrus, gimme it!” she snapped, still jumping for it. 

His mandibles twitched in a smirk and she recognized that look instantly. He held it up, reading out loud the title as his visor translated the English for him. “ _ Pride and Prejudice _ , Shepard? What's it about?”

“Nothing,” she lied instantly, grabbing at his cowl and trying to pull herself up to his level. He poked her side, the ticklish Vanguard squeaking and falling. She stood up on the table, a little taller now. “Garrus.”

“Rhea,” he said, lowering his voice and saying her name in that way that usually made her melt. Usually, but now she was a bit irritated.

“Give me the book,” she insisted, using her Commander Voice on him to let him know she meant business. He sighed, handing it over to her. She ran her hand over the cover and held the book to her chest as he gave her a hand off of the coffee table.

The two sat on the couch, neither saying anything for a moment. She gave her short black locks a push back on her head, tucking loose strands behind her ears. 

“Rhea,” Garrus started. “I'm sorry, I didn't realize…”

“It’s fine, you goof,” she said, scooting closer to him. She loved having him out of his armor and in civilian clothes for a change. It made cuddling easier. “I'm just… embarrassed.”

His brow plates shifted in a look of confusion. “Why are you embarrassed?”

She bit at her lip and sighed. “It's a satirical piece set in 19th century Earth, which comparatively speaking must seem ancient to you, and it's beautiful and mushy and I've read it way too many times.”

“I still don't…”

“It's about romance and culture and it's so cliché… it's dumb,”she said, still clutching the book. “I love these books so much but they weren't as popular among the other kids on the stations. It's my guilty pleasure, if you will. A tale of status and love and romance between two people who didn't give a fuck about what the rest of the world said.”

Garrus was smiling at her now, looking at her with love in his eyes. She noticed him and blushed, a rare sight. 

“What?” she asked, self-consciously tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Your face is changing color,” he pointed out.

“Because your giving me that look. Right after I just laid my heart bare to you.” Rhea put the book beside her and sat up a bit, trying and failing to make herself seem taller. “So, your turn. Are you a romantic at heart?”

Garrus laughed at this, shaking his head at her while he smiled slightly. “If you mean ‘do I like romantic stories?’ Then yes, I do.”

“Then I have no idea where your horrible flirting comes from,” she said, moving to straddle his lap, her arms around his neck. 

“It’s not that bad,” he defended, the smile fading a bit. He put his arms around her waist anyways.

“Honey, it’s horrible,” she said, smiling. His mandibles twitched, and were he human he’d have been pouting. Rhea let out a soft giggle as she recognized that look and moved up to press her forehead against his. He froze at the intimacy, still not used to it even after several months of being an official couple, but then relaxed against her. Garrus nuzzled against her, getting her to smile as she kissed his nose. It twitched at the feel of her soft skin.

She leaned back a bit, Garrus giving her one last nuzzle as she sat back in his legs. 

“So,” she started. “You know my taste in romance stories. What's yours?”

“A very well known vid amongst both turians and quarians,  _ Fleet and Flotilla, _ ” he said with pride in his voice, holding himself up.

Rhea blinked, the name vaguely familiar until it hit her. “Wait, you mean that movie Tali made me watch with her?” Her face broke in a wide smile and she laughed. “It had the cheesiest lines in it, oh my god I can't believe this.”

Garrus frowned. “You didn't like it?”

“No no, I thought it was great,” she said, still smiling. “It had action and cross-species love and the actors were great. I haven't seen many interstellar vids, it was fun.”

“I'm glad you approve,” he said, a bit of his courage coming through.

Rhea kept smiling. After everything that had happened, just sitting here in this little bit of peace felt so perfect. She would do anything to have more moments like this.

“Hey,” she said, hooking her arms around his neck and getting her face close to his. 

“Hi,” he said, the sweet notes of his subvocals playing a song just for her. 

“I love you,” she said, her deep green eyes locked on his bright blue.

He made a nervous sound in his throat. “I, uh, feel the same towards you.”

Rhea continued to smile. He didn't need to say it out loud for her know. She knew he loved her and it was more than enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you liked it! (Plus it's totally canon that that's one of his favorite movies, I know these things)  
> Comments and kudos are always loved, but never required ^_^


End file.
